Tombstone at the eye of Minuteman storm
TOMBSTONE - A Minuteman volunteer roams the streets in this town, the Colt .45 on his hip as much for show as anything. His shirt is stenciled, "Undocumented Border Patrol Agent."
At any given moment, reporters descend on him for interviews with an actual Minuteman Project volunteer. He doesn't mind; he's proud of what he's doing, he says.
Protesters in Tucson gather pots and pans to bang in protest of today's 1,000-strong Minuteman Project, a protest of the current state of border enforcement, in a "show of solidarity" with the illegal entrants who cross the border.
Also in Tucson, Robert Fritz is finishing up some lawyer business to come to Tombstone to join the Minuteman Project, while in the Whetstone Mountains northwest of Tombstone, Larry Dempster watches the gathering crowds with a jaundiced eye and wonders who's going to fix the fences illegal entrants cut recently.
State legislators and legal observers are expected to arrive from Phoenix and Tucson, while across the border in Naco, Sonora, Sergio Sanchez received a warning from Grupo Beta, Mexico's border safety force, that protesters may try to thwart his attempt to cross illegally into the United States.
It's an expected gathering that has gotten so much attention that even Presidents Bush and Vicente Fox weighed in, calling the group of protesters "immigrant hunters" and "vigilantes."
Fritz thinks differently.
"My frustrations are with the county and the state and the federal government that anybody who wants to step up as a citizen gets put down as a vigilante," he says.
"The people that are involved with this, they don't want anybody hurt out in the desert."
Tom Dushane, sporting his .45 six-shooter, agrees, saying he's simply tired of illegal entrants coming across the border.
On Monday, Border Patrol agents arrested about 800 people in the Cochise County area, said Tucson Sector spokesman Rob Daniels. Nobody knows how many got away.
"We're mainly trying to get the message to President Bush," Dushane says. "We need to close our borders."
But the message has also gone as far as Santa Cruz County, where Sheriff Tony Estrada says he's received tips the Minuteman Project will have volunteers posted in Nogales, Ariz.
"We're anxiously awaiting their arrival," he says.
Whether they show in Nogales remains to be seen. Organizers Chris Simcox and James Gilchrist weren't available for interviews Thursday.
Earth First activists will participate in a protest outside Schieffelin Hall on Arizona 80 in Tombstone, joining a gathering of people banging wooden spoons on empty pots as Minuteman organizers give speeches inside, says protest organizer Jonathan Shapiro.
The drumming is a show of solidarity with the entrants who'll be running the gantlet of Minuteman volunteers to work in this country, he said.
Other groups like Tucson-based Derechos Humanos plan unity events like a "Women in Black" vigil to protest the Minuteman Project.
If there are already Minuteman volunteers in town, they're keeping a low profile, says Mayor Andree Dejournett. The media sure aren't. There were at least 30 reporters, photographers and camera crews in Tombstone Thursday. At times it's hard to tell who's who with all the tourists. Both wear sophisticated cameras around their necks.
The town is full, though it's hard to tell if it's for the Minuteman Project or the weekend's car show, Dejournett said.
With only 260 rooms available in town, every room is taken, he said.
"We get 500,000 tourists every year. They might boost the number by 500, 1,000, who knows," he said. But right now, he supports their freedom to gather and protest, and if they don't break the law there's nothing more to say, he said. "I'm waiting just like everybody else is."
There's no vacancy at the Larian Motel, and owner Gordon Anderson likes it that way.
Nobody who registered for a room said they were here to protest the open border, he said.
If they are, they're more than welcome, he says. "They're just trying to do something for their country."
Maybe, but their motives still are not known, said Tombstone resident John Dorenzo, working a hot-dog stand on a street corner. "You don't know what their agenda is - are they sick of the government or are they just trying to get some publicity?"
Rancher Dempster wonders the same thing.
"We're going to have observers watching the observers, the Mexican government complaining, the press, legislators with 'Mexican accents' - where do my cows come in? How much feed are all these people going to tromp down?"
Told they won't be anywhere near his property, he chuckled. "That's good because none of it's going to do a bit of good."
But just the news that the Minutemen are coming was enough to make Sergio Sanchez worry about his plans to cross the border on the way to Florida. There's no work in Mexico to feed his two daughters and his wife, he said. But the Minuteman Project scares him because Mexican agents warned him Vietnam vets with an ax to grind would be trying to stop him.
"I'm still going to cross," he says. "What choice do I have? I need to work."
● Contact reporter Michael Marizco at 573-4213 or mmarizco@azstarnet.com.
http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/border/68362.php
TOMBSTONE - A Minuteman volunteer roams the streets in this town, the Colt .45 on his hip as much for show as anything. His shirt is stenciled, "Undocumented Border Patrol Agent."
At any given moment, reporters descend on him for interviews with an actual Minuteman Project volunteer. He doesn't mind; he's proud of what he's doing, he says.
Protesters in Tucson gather pots and pans to bang in protest of today's 1,000-strong Minuteman Project, a protest of the current state of border enforcement, in a "show of solidarity" with the illegal entrants who cross the border.
Also in Tucson, Robert Fritz is finishing up some lawyer business to come to Tombstone to join the Minuteman Project, while in the Whetstone Mountains northwest of Tombstone, Larry Dempster watches the gathering crowds with a jaundiced eye and wonders who's going to fix the fences illegal entrants cut recently.
State legislators and legal observers are expected to arrive from Phoenix and Tucson, while across the border in Naco, Sonora, Sergio Sanchez received a warning from Grupo Beta, Mexico's border safety force, that protesters may try to thwart his attempt to cross illegally into the United States.
It's an expected gathering that has gotten so much attention that even Presidents Bush and Vicente Fox weighed in, calling the group of protesters "immigrant hunters" and "vigilantes."
Fritz thinks differently.
"My frustrations are with the county and the state and the federal government that anybody who wants to step up as a citizen gets put down as a vigilante," he says.
"The people that are involved with this, they don't want anybody hurt out in the desert."
Tom Dushane, sporting his .45 six-shooter, agrees, saying he's simply tired of illegal entrants coming across the border.
On Monday, Border Patrol agents arrested about 800 people in the Cochise County area, said Tucson Sector spokesman Rob Daniels. Nobody knows how many got away.
"We're mainly trying to get the message to President Bush," Dushane says. "We need to close our borders."
But the message has also gone as far as Santa Cruz County, where Sheriff Tony Estrada says he's received tips the Minuteman Project will have volunteers posted in Nogales, Ariz.
"We're anxiously awaiting their arrival," he says.
Whether they show in Nogales remains to be seen. Organizers Chris Simcox and James Gilchrist weren't available for interviews Thursday.
Earth First activists will participate in a protest outside Schieffelin Hall on Arizona 80 in Tombstone, joining a gathering of people banging wooden spoons on empty pots as Minuteman organizers give speeches inside, says protest organizer Jonathan Shapiro.
The drumming is a show of solidarity with the entrants who'll be running the gantlet of Minuteman volunteers to work in this country, he said.
Other groups like Tucson-based Derechos Humanos plan unity events like a "Women in Black" vigil to protest the Minuteman Project.
If there are already Minuteman volunteers in town, they're keeping a low profile, says Mayor Andree Dejournett. The media sure aren't. There were at least 30 reporters, photographers and camera crews in Tombstone Thursday. At times it's hard to tell who's who with all the tourists. Both wear sophisticated cameras around their necks.
The town is full, though it's hard to tell if it's for the Minuteman Project or the weekend's car show, Dejournett said.
With only 260 rooms available in town, every room is taken, he said.
"We get 500,000 tourists every year. They might boost the number by 500, 1,000, who knows," he said. But right now, he supports their freedom to gather and protest, and if they don't break the law there's nothing more to say, he said. "I'm waiting just like everybody else is."
There's no vacancy at the Larian Motel, and owner Gordon Anderson likes it that way.
Nobody who registered for a room said they were here to protest the open border, he said.
If they are, they're more than welcome, he says. "They're just trying to do something for their country."
Maybe, but their motives still are not known, said Tombstone resident John Dorenzo, working a hot-dog stand on a street corner. "You don't know what their agenda is - are they sick of the government or are they just trying to get some publicity?"
Rancher Dempster wonders the same thing.
"We're going to have observers watching the observers, the Mexican government complaining, the press, legislators with 'Mexican accents' - where do my cows come in? How much feed are all these people going to tromp down?"
Told they won't be anywhere near his property, he chuckled. "That's good because none of it's going to do a bit of good."
But just the news that the Minutemen are coming was enough to make Sergio Sanchez worry about his plans to cross the border on the way to Florida. There's no work in Mexico to feed his two daughters and his wife, he said. But the Minuteman Project scares him because Mexican agents warned him Vietnam vets with an ax to grind would be trying to stop him.
"I'm still going to cross," he says. "What choice do I have? I need to work."
● Contact reporter Michael Marizco at 573-4213 or mmarizco@azstarnet.com.
http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/border/68362.php
